A Guardian's Vengeance
by brokenkitty95
Summary: A new Guardian arrives, sent by the mysterious Shadows to take down the gods, but Lara and Jace intercept him. But life may have other plans as the Guardian finds himself dangerously smitten with Lara. Will the newcomer create bonds, or lead to the destruction of the Realm of Mianite? Co-Author: JustAnotherGuest
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Morning came and went. But today? Today was the Purge – and Jay, in spite of all of the mayhem, was going to have fun.

He touched down upon what appeared to be a giant scale, flipping off the hood of his clothing. It was a robe, identical to the ones assigned to all other Guardians, with slits in the back for his large, black wings to fit through. The wind blew his dark hair out of his blue eyes.

Jay wasn't sure what to think of the Mianitees running around. He didn't have much time to contemplate them, before a hiss sounded behind him. Curious, he turned to seek out the source of the noise. His eyes settled upon a creature – a dragon – sitting at the base of the scale. Its black scales stood out against the daylight, and its eyes threatened to burn holes into his body.

"Hello, creature," he greeted. He attempted to sound peaceable, in spite of the chaos around them both. The dragon was one from the End. Similar, yet different, to the place he had been raised. "I sense that we are both void-born."

A growl rumbled from deep within the Enderdragon's belly. Jay considered it for a moment. How odd for an Enderdragon to be away from the End. Perhaps it had a master here – one of the Mianitees. Perhaps it was looking for someone.

He brushed off the dragoness' threatening growl, instead choosing to scoop it up into his arms. When it began to squirm, he turned it over and rubbed a finger along its underbelly. "Silence, creature," he soothed, "I mean you no harm."

"Sparklez, you bastard! Come back here!"

The Enderdragon raised her head, craning her neck as though attempting to seek out the voice. A gleeful laugh filled the air. The dragoness only seemed to get twice as anxious at the sound, and at her reaction, Jay smiled.

It had been so long since he had been eager for the company of his master. Long enough that he could not remember the last time he had the ability. If this creature longed for its master, then Jay supposed he was not one to hold her from him. "Let's go see what this is about," he told her.

The dragoness, who had made her was to his shoulder, tipped her head at him. It was such a curious little notion, but it didn't last for long. In a moment, the creature purred and gratefully nudged its snout against the side of his face. She let out a small chirp at him. The sound, in Jay's mind, was a confirmation to his suggestion.

His wings – large, dark appendages; endless like the night sky – took only one flap to get him into the air. He glanced around and noticed two figures a short distance away. One of the men was wearing a suit and sun glasses. That one was backed into a corner by another man. The other man looked similar to a zombie, although he wore a suit.

The zombie-creature held an iron sword up to the other man's throat, Jay didn't think much of the action, until the dragoness clinging to his shoulder let out a horrible shriek and dove forward, towards the fighters. The zombie-creature drew back its sword, bringing it down just as the cat-sized Enderdragon go in its way. The other man hollered, stepping forward.

Jay, feeling a twinge of kinship with the other void-born creature, extended a bit of his energy. The night sky around the dragon and sword solidified. The dragon hovered in the air, looking anxiously over at the more human-looking of the two mortal men. Whines escaped the dragon's throat.

After lowering to the ground, Jay approached the group. The zombie-creature sent him a glance. Nervousness lit up the man's eyes as he managed to wrench the sword free from the solidified gravity. He swung the sword towards Jay, but the Guardian caught it and, with ease, snapped in into two pieces that were tossed aside uncaringly.

"That cost two iron, you bastard," the zombie-creature accused as he shot the Guardian a glare.

Jay's eyes lit up dangerously, the blue burning like flames. "What was that?" He demanded, "I will burn everything of yours with the Void's eternal flames!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Jay noticed that the other mortal typed something into a device. Out of curiosity, he risked a glance down at his own wrist, where an identical device was resting. He told himself he would remember to ask about it later. If mortals had the devices, then they were not simply for Guardians. He looked back over at the zombie-creature, growling at him low in his throat.

"Who are you?" The other human demanded when his fingers left the pad.

The human stepped forward. His hands plucked the Enderdragon from the air. Almost immediately, the dragoness scrambled into his arms, content to be pulled closer. She purred, nuzzled at the man's bare throat, and then settled her head down against his chest. As she settled there, her gaze fell to the zombie-creature and Jay.

"I am death itself! I am the end," Jay announced, projecting his voice loudly, "Heir to the Void and Creation of the Shadow! I will not tolerate arrogance!"

The human seemed to consider his words warily. "What were you doing with Polaris?" He asked, even as his eyes darted downward towards the pad.

Jay could see something had popped up on the hologram. A response? It had to be. Based on what he could suddenly sense, the mortal had not simply messaged _anyone_. It was someone – or something – powerful. Immortal.

Someone like him.

While the Enderdragon – _Polaris_, his mind decided – cooed nervously, Jay felt something settle into his stomach. It wasn't fear; it was… something else. He brushed the feeling aside, instead choosing to answer the mortal man, "I was bringing her to her insignificant master. Now, tell me: who did you summon? I feel… two immortal presences."

Upon receiving no answer, Jay let his gaze harden. "Now tell, or I will throw you into an eternal fall in the Void."

A single kick of his foot against the ground opened a hole, large enough for the mortal to fall through if Jay were to push him. The sight made the zombie-creature go to say something. Jay felt quite confident in it being negative or taunting, if the way the Enderdragon suddenly snarled was any indication.

The more human of the two mortals sent Jay a surprisingly calm glance. "They're Mianite and Dianite's Guardians," he informed.

Jay tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Very well. Weapons are not allowed then."

He snapped his fingers and the human's sword vanished, as the zombie-creature's had been disposed of already. The zombie-creature took advantage of Jay's distracted state, raising a bow and notching an arrow. The mortal across from him glanced at his own now empty hand, frowning.

The man glanced up at the other as an arrow was let loose. He sighed. "Tom, are you trying to get killed?" He asked.

Two others landed close to the dragoness' master. One was a man with red hair and black, bat-like wings. He had two horns poking out from beneath his hair, and a tail that flitted behind him in sporadic, violent motions. The other, standing at his side, was more angelic in appearance. Two white wings hung from her shoulders, settling contentedly. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was the immediate source of Jay's intrigue.

"What's going on here?" The devil questioned, before lamenting, "I was busy."

"Jace, shush," the angel scolded.

It was barely a use of Jay's energy to snap the arrow sent flying at him as he turned. He tossed it aside and glided forward, shaking the devil's hand. The devil, Jace, smirked and made an off-hand comment of praise, while Jay slid to the side and brought to his lips the hand of the angel with a respectful bow. He tipped his head up just slightly, offering her a smile as she gently pulled her hand free. The way the angel's cheeks had a brush of pink in them made Jay smile.

"Might I ask your name?" He inquired.

"My name is Lara," she informed, "might I ask yours?"

Jay smiled at her. "My name is Jay, m'lady."

His smile changed to a frown. He waved a hand in the air, watching as a hologram flashed into life. Humming to himself, he peeked over the list of names – most of which read 'AVAILABLE' in large, bold letters. How odd that there would be others lively, but not attempting to be involved in the scene that had attracted the call of Guardians.

"Strange," he muttered, "everyone is available." He looked away from the hologram, towards Lara. "Should I provide transportation?"

She nodded. "Perhaps you should. Also, it is a pleasure to meet you, Jay."

Jay tipped his head in acknowledgement, turning back to the hologram. He hears Lara, behind him, fussing over the Enderdragon in its master's arms, "Oh, there you are! I was waiting for you at the temple. Jordan said you'd be right along. I was getting worried about you." Polaris, in response, was making tiny, apologetic cooing noises.

Jay flicked one of his wrist. Darkness gathered in the air and then quickly spilled out two other figures. One of them raised something akin to a glowing stick, which he quickly used to bat the Heir of the Void over the nearby hillside. As he went sailing, Jay barely caught sound of the zombie-creature – _Tom_, he recalled – offer a proud, "Damn, bro, nice one."

The Guardian pushed himself up onto his feet, scowling in the direction of the others. He listened to them talk.

"_Tucker_," the dragoness' master said, warning in his tone.

"This will end poorly," Lara sighed. Her voice sounded exhausted. Jay got the mind that she spent a good bit of her time watching the mortals handle things in rather idiotic ways.

"Good," Jace laughed, "I haven't had fun today. We don't get to have any fun during the Purge."

Jay snapped his fingers, summoning a chest to the center of the Mianitees little gathering. He flew over and watched as the mortal who'd sent him flying lost all of his possessions, knowing very well that even the man's pockets would be emptied into the chest. The man, who'd previously been laughing at his victory, paused and glanced inquisitively at the chest. Once all of his items had been deposited safely, he was dropped into a hole similar to the one Jay had opened as a threat earlier.

Tom winced, looking down at his wrist and reading the message Jay already knew would be there: "iiJeriichoii has fallen out of the world."

Jay turned when he heard Lara beat her wings twice and sigh. "I should go and get him," she said, sounding just as exhausted as she had before, "not to mention calm him down."

Jace hopped up into the air, hovering with ease as his sister flew away from the group. "Yeah," he joked, "probably best not to teleport him again. He'll be so salty."

When someone's hand moved towards the chest, Jay appeared next to it, using the darkness to teleport himself. He kicked the chest away from the figure – Jordan – and closer to the hole. "He won't be getting these back," Jay said, smirking when the chest balanced precariously. "To the eternal fires of the void!"

"Hey, no, that's not fair," Jordan snapped, "the Wizards made those wands for us."

The dragoness in his arms growled, and Jay returned the sound with twice the anger. "Fine, I'll keep it," he conceded, "you can share his fate as well."

As the ground dropped from below the Mianitee, Jay scooped the dragoness free. She snarled and hissed, tiny, sharp claws trying desperately to reach for the Guardian who had just simply sent her master falling into the void. Jay put her at arms-length when she started snapping at his neck.

When Lara returned and lowered the mortal she'd brought, she blinked and groaned in frustration. "Really?!"

As she took off towards the water, Jay peeked into the chest. Jordan's items had appeared inside, nestled safely in it right near Tucker's items. Jay lifted a hand to high-five Jace before vanishing. He reappeared inside of the house. Jordan stood in the main room, prepped to fight. Jay flicked a wrist and teleported Jordan away to the chest just as the door opened.

"Sorry about my temper," he apologized when Lara entered.

She glared at him. "You're not better than Jace. All you are is a trouble-maker," she accused. "A… A _child_!"

A frown crossed Jay's face. "Don't you think that was harsh?" He demanded. "That everyday I wake, I'm expected to end the very gods who created you two? That instead of being raised by Mianite, I was given a shadow as my only friend. That, perhaps, after being in complete darkness for my whole life, I have a _right _to be cranky?!"

He growled and took a step closer to her. "If someone apologizes, _take it_," he hissed, "or you'll end up bitter. And it isn't fun."

He vanished in a wisp of smoke.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Brokenkitty95: I finally uploaded it! I finally finished editing the first chapter! Be pleased with me, JustAnotherGuest! Also, I love Jay. He's precious, although... not quite so much right now. He gets to be a sweetie later. Although... Well, I won't spoil anything for you. I'm going to attempt - read: attempt - to get something up once a week. Though, 'cause of college, I can't really promise my life will always be so free to. Hey, but, JustAnotherGuest, you can finally work on those one-shots! Because now Jay has been introduced! Well sort of.<strong>_

_**Now, I just need to plan for a cover drawing and draw that. Might do that at some point. Remember, though, guys: this is related to The Guardian's of Mianite, so you'll be seeing the characters from that. Also: It's mostly about the Guardians, not the Mianitees.**_

_**JustAnotherGuest would like to add that he is 'l33t'. Really, JustAnotherGuest? *sigh***_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Lara growled and started back towards the area where the Mianitees and Jace were gathered. She shook her head as she went, trying to ignore Jay's words. She did not want to admit that she had been harsh, though she knew she had been. Her words were cruel; said out of anger and, perhaps, a bit of fear. It was not often that something from the _Void_ came to the Overworld. The knowledge that anything could be from there was frightening to her, as she'd been taught very young that there was no good to be had from the darkness.

When she arrived, she quickly landed and grabbed at Jace's arm, attempting to coax the younger Guardian aside. "We're leaving, Jace," she demanded as she pulled him from his hover, down to the ground.

"What?" Jace whined, "but I was enjoying myself."

"Follow Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes," Jay growled, "my creator is calling. Hopefully with my final mission."

Lara glared in the newly-announced Guardian's direction. She had a horrible feeling, spurred twice as strong by his words. "What would that be?" She asks.

"To destroy you all," Jay answered.

The ground split open and the void-born Guardian hopped into the portal, disappearing just before the Overworld worked quickly to repair itself. Lara warily watched the spot where the hole had been. She was unsure how safe it would be to let the area out of her gaze. Would it open again? Would it swallow up the Mianitees? Surely, they could be permanently killed. What if Jay knew how to do so?

Lara pulled her glance away from the ground only when Declan came rushing out of his house. The priest seemed both surprised and knowing. It was hardly an odd sight. Lara knew Declan had contact with the gods, and that the odds were that nothing was greatly surprising to him anymore. With all of the strange things the Mianitees got wrapped up in, Lara wondered why anyone was surprised.

"What's happened?" Declan asked.

Sonja, previously silent, took the moment to speak up. "I know what he's getting," she said slowly.

"He won't win," Lara insisted, attempting to soothe her own nerves, as well as acknowledge Sonja's words.

She turned to Declan. "Holy Man, perhaps you should discuss this with the gods. I know I will be, and if Jace is intelligent at all, so won't he," she suggested.

While Jace mumbled and darted off towards the Nether portal, Declan nodded and Sonja quickly added, "He's going to get the Ultimate God Slaying Bow... I know this because 'Death' offered it for Marlin."

Tom got then to his feet. "You bitch! You did it. I knew it when I saw that gapple," he accused.

"And you hid that from me?" Lara growled.

Sonja and Tucker were supposed to come to her for assistance and to warn for anything suspicious. Guardians were created to help, and the foresight to warn the gods was a plus, if the Mianitees decided to inform of any odd happenstances. Lara felt horrible. She could've warned Mianite that the Shadows would be up to something – but because Sonja had kept quiet, the matter was now worse and out of her hands.

Lara opened her mouth to scold Sonja for what had been done, but Jordan interrupted her after shushing an inquisitive Polaris. "Sonja didn't do anything, Tom," he said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jace barreled out of the priest's area, ducking behind Lara. "I didn't do it," he yelped as he pulled one of the older Guardian's wings in front of him to hide him better. Lara offered his behavior a sigh, but didn't scold him. As tired as she was of dealing with the trouble, she couldn't retreat to the peace of Mianite's temple until everything was settled.

Jordan blinked at Jace. "What 'didn't' you do?"

"He believe Dianite will be angry with him for not doing anything," Lara offered, knowing Jace well enough to guess. He never did like it when Dianite's anger was directed at him.

Jace gave Lara a look, a brow raised. "You're not afraid Mianite will be angry?"

"No," she answered, shaking her head.

Two lightning bolts appeared, striking the ground near the gathered group. Lara glanced over as Jace clung to her with a frightened yelp. Despite her instincts screaming at her to protect the younger Guardian, she forced the desire aside in favor of not upsetting Dianite. Dianite never took kindly to Jace being coddled by anyone, especially not by Lara herself.

Polaris offered the Nether god a growl, which he ignored. "Is what Declan has told us true?" He demanded.

"Yes, it is," Lara confirmed.

Her gaze fell to Mianite, who turned towards the other god. "Brother… do you feel it?"

Before Dianite could respond, an arrow ripped a hole through the ground. The attack managed to catch the Nether god off-guard. In Dianite's surprise, he had no time to react before the arrow exploded in mid-air, sending him falling to the ground a few feet away. Mianite peered in the direction that the arrow had come from. Another came flying quickly down the tunnel, lit by fire and aimed directly at him. It would have hit its mark as well, had Lara not shoved her creator out of the way. As the arrow passed, Lara felt her feathers burn just a bit.

Jace glanced between Lara and Dianite, swallowing down his desire to assist the other Guardian in favor of checking on the fallen god. Next to Jace, Jordan pulled Polaris closer, getting to his feet with her. The dragoness ducked her head immediately underneath Jordan's arm in a scramble to remain safe.

"You're alright, Polaris," Jordan mumbled.

A deep laugh echoed from the tunnel as Jay flew out of it. "Witness the end," he said. He pulled back the bow string, aiming for Mianite in hopes that Dianite would already have been dead. The arrow was quickly sent of its path, but Jay stopped it upon noticing the female Guardian move into its way.

Lara sent Jay a cool glare. "What's wrong? Too afraid to hurt a lady?"

Jace was attempting to urge Dianite to awaken, when Tom walked over and had a brief conversation. Lara forced herself to pay no mind to it, hoping that the devil would be convincing the zombie-creature to take his friends and flee. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Jace had plucked Tom from the ground and was hovering with him.

Her attention returned to Jay as he dropped to his knees, tossing aside the quiver he'd brought with him. "No, I was surprised is all," he countered, voice lowered into a mutter. "You know what…? He no longer controls me…"

Upon his distraction, Jace tossed Tom forward. The Mianitee drew back an arrow from his own quiver, letting it free. The arrow imbedded itself in Jay's back and the Guardian quickly collapsed, lying unmoving on the ground.

Lara offered a nod, humming in appreciation as she noticed Guardian fall. The threat was gone. "Good shot," she complimented, adding, "for once."

Jace lowered his feet back onto the ground. "Don't mess with our creators," he snapped down at the other Guardian. "I like you. Let's not ruin that already."

Rising slowly to his feet, Dianite offered a rare, proud smile and congratulated Tom and Jace. "Good job! Now, where will the body go? I suggest a lava pit."

Mianite sighed. "Dianite, for the last time, no burying people in lava pits," he scolded, "the boy will have a proper funeral."

Jace snickered a bit and kicked off of the ground again to circle around Jay. Lara felt odd. She didn't believe that Jay was truly dead – nothing felt right – but she didn't see the interest in calling the gods out for their odd statements. Instead, when Jordan recommended locking Jay up in case he wasn't dead, she shook her head and shifted her attention to correcting him.

"I don't think so. He can just open dimensional holes. He'll escape," she pointed out.

Tom shrugged. "Could get the Wizards to protect the area," he suggested.

Mianite shook his head at their debate. "No. The boy is dead. Tom's sword would have been enough, but I'm afraid Jace landed the killing blow. Only an immortal can kill another immortal."

"And well done. By _my _followers, might I add," Dianite confirmed with a smirk.

Lara crossed her arms, shooting Dianite a glare. "Only because he was distracted," she conceded, "and who was the one on the ground, Dianite? I do hope you were pretending. Otherwise, I—"

Jace grabbed hold of Lara's shoulder. "Lara, let's just go now." Upon receiving a curious held-tilt in response, he shrugged and continued, "You said there was a pirate-thing. Let's go see the pirate-thing."

Understanding that Jace simply wanted to leave, Lara nodded and let her lead them both away from the scene with just a wave. The Mianitees quickly scattered as well to go about their day.

Mianite tapped his foot. "Stop pretending, child."

Jay sat up, pain searing down his spine. "Yo," he muttered.

Dianite growled at him. "You must be punished," he accused, "Mianite, let me handle this one."

"Keep him hidden, Brother. Make sure Jace can't find him."

When Mianite vanished, Dianite teleported both himself and Jay into a Nether fortress, tossing the Guardian into one of the cells. "This Nether fortress is now your prison," he informed before disappearing and leaving Jay behind.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Guess what's finally back? I finally had the timeenergy/computer availability to edit things. I'm going to try to edit everything within the next few days, for this story at least. There might be a mini-break in-between stories getting posted because the next one in the 'series' is longer and might take me some time to figure out a good start/stop point for every chapter. I'd already figured that out for this one, so I didn't have to do that.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Hours had passed since the scene between the Guardians and the gods had taken place in the center of the main area. Jordan had returned home shortly after, and was currently sat on his bed, watching as Polaris paced around the room. The Enderdragon was clearly unsettled, evident by her elicitation of occasional whines and growls. Jordan had learned since having Polaris in his life that Enderdragons seemed to have their own language – one shared with the Endermen – but he had yet to really learn what it meant outside of the context of what he could guess from her body language.

"You're upset about Dianite being there," he guessed. To be honest, it was a fair guess. While Polaris had always been content with Jace and on shaky terms with Tom and Nade, she had never liked Dianite. He thought it stemmed from Dianite's involvement in Ianite's imprisonment.

The noise Polaris made at him when she turned to face him, he took as confirmation that his guess was correct.

"I know. But now that Jay's gone, things will be okay," he added. Polaris whined and Jordan sighed, lying back on the back. "I know you liked him, Polaris. I'm sorry."

Polaris offered another whine. From his position, Jordan could not see what she was up to, but he could hear one of his chests being opened. It was an odd noise. Polaris was typically not very invested in the items in his chests, but she seemed very intrigued this time. He could hear her rooting through the chest, which was filled only with random and various items.

He sat up, raising a brow. "Huh? Polaris?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes in confusion.

Polaris had, in her mouth, a bit of obsidian. She set the block down and breathes fire on it. Clearly, she was attempting to send Jordan a message, but unlike responding to vocal and physical changes in her mood, this was foreign to him. The house was safe from her fire, due to Jordan making certain that the Wizards were kind enough to protect the home with a spell after a small mishap. He could not decipher her strange behavior.

Jordan blinked at her and then scooped her up into his arms, deciding to try and get her to rest. "Polaris, it's late."

He heard a beep from his chat-pad and glanced down. A hologram popped up on the screen. "_CaptainSparklez has won the Purge!"_

Another message pops up directly under it from Tucker. This one read, "_Predictable."_

Polaris continued to whine, squirming until she was free of Jordan's arms. As soon as she was, she hopped from the bed and approached the chest, pulling out a bit of netherrack and brick from the Nether. She raised one of her front feet, pointing a claw at her nose. Jordan sighed quietly at her, discouraged that he could not understand what she wanted from him. Clearly, it was important enough to her that she was being relentless about it.

"Are we playing charades?" He asked, before quickly correcting himself, "wait, you don't know what that is, do you?" He shook his head. "Okay, netherrack and nether brick. They're found in the Nether. You want to go to the Nether?"

Polaris nodded vigorously at him. He frowned, wondering when she had started acting so strangely. Earlier, she had been acting perfectly normally – running around, eagerly trying to chase chickens around the yard, following Jordan until the Purge had officially started. She had only started behaving oddly since—

"Jay," he muttered, catching on to her reasoning.

He scooped her up and ran back to the area where the battle had taken place, in the center of the little 'town' the Mianitees had created. Nothing was left from the fight – not even the body of the Shadow's Guardian, Jay. He blinked twice at the spot where he was confident the body had been lying before. Maybe one of the gods had disposed of it? Maybe Jace had wanted to pull Lara away long enough for everyone else to leave so that the gods could make it disappear.

"Where'd…?" He trailed off, shaking his head. For some reason, he got the feeling that his immediate belief in the gods getting rid of Jay's body was incorrect, but he forced himself to ignore it. Jace had _just_ wanted to Leave, and Lara, for once, had been willing to completely oblige the younger Guardian she called a brother. That was all the situation was, nothing more.

But Polaris could clearly smell something, and it was connected to the Nether.

He lifted his wrist, shifting Polaris carefully in his arms as he did so as not to unceremoniously drop her onto the ground. He started to type a message to Jace in the chat-pad, but stopped. The chat-pads were designed only to respond with the name of people currently alive and to make it so that their names could be automatically completed for the ease of those using them.

So why was Jay's name still available under the auto-complete, if he was supposed to be dead?

He was no expert with the device, but he was positive that they were not supposed to do that.

"I was right," he said.

He selected Jace's name, typing in a message suggesting Jace meet he and Polaris in the Nether. Knowing how late it was and that Lara and Jace had left together, he considered the possibility that Jace would still be with the morning-bird older Guardian, but decided against asking Jace not to bring her along. After all, Jay had seemed to hesitate upon seeing her. If something happened, there was a likely chance that Jay would again.

He sent the message and walked towards the portal. "Alright, Polaris. Let's go."

Travel through a Nether portal, Jordan decided, was not something he thought he was ever going to get used to. But, there he was – in the Nether. Polaris seemed frenzied, like she wanted to rush ahead as they walked, but she was waiting. The Enderdragon had never liked leaving him behind.

"Not much longer, girl," he promised when the portal behind him hummed back to life, signaling someone was going to head through it after them.

Jace walked out of the portal with Lara close behind him. Jordan almost laughed when Lara huffed and rolled her shoulders. The older Guardian did not seem fond of portals, either. Jordan wondered if it was because of the hushed murmuring that the Nether portal gave off, or if it was simply due to her wings. Perhaps they felt cramped in such a small space, or perhaps the portal gave off some charge that made her uncomfortable.

"I thought we were doing pirate-things," she accused.

Jace shrugged. "We were. And then Jordan needed me," he confirmed.

Lara frowned at her 'brother.' "Not me, though," she pointed out, earning another shrug from the Nether Guardian.

As soon as Polaris caught sight of them, she darted off in a random direction. Jordan barely had a chance to urge the other two Guardians to follow before he had to race after her. Lara easily kept up with Polaris, while Jace flew thankfully next to Jordan. As the Guardian of the Nether, Jace was able to sense anything within his home and able to navigate it expertly. Jordan was grateful to have him near, otherwise he worried he may lose sight of Polaris and Lara completely and wind up lost, save for the feathery path that was left by Lara's wings due to natural shedding of loose or dead feathers.

"Ha… Enderdragons are fast little buggers," Jace commented half-heartedly.

"Apparently have a great sense of smell, too," he agreed, which seemed to confuse Jace.

He caught up with Polaris and Lara, stopped above a bit of nether brick that jutted out and stood clearly out against the netherrack surrounding it. Polaris whined, pawing at the ground. As she did, a scream echoed through the Nether, originating just below them. Lara and Jace glanced down at the netherrack and brick underneath their feet.

"Lara."

"I know. I sense it, too."

Jace bent down, digging at the bricks with his claws. Despite them not being sharpened to full, his claws seemed to do the trick. The area was more than likely set up with the Wizards' protection, but that wouldn't apply to Jace. As a creature of the Nether – as the _Guardian_ of the Nether – Jace was more than likely trusted with immunity from the protection.

However, as he dug, the screams went silent, causing fear to build in Jordan.

"Jace, hurry up," Lara urged.

Jace growled up at her. "Almost… got it… there!"

He dove down into the hole. Jordan and Lara both moved to get closer in order to gain view into the hole. All Jordan could see was fire.

"Don't let Polaris down here," Jace called up to him. Jordan happily scooped Polaris up, glad to keep her away from the heat. "I don't really want to find out if she'll burn," Jace added grimly as he worked to put out the immediate danger.

Lara waited a moment before hopping down into the hole, content that the flames were gone enough that she could safely enter what Jordan could only assume was a prison cell.

* * *

><p>To say that Jay was in pain would have been an understatement.<p>

He had been pacing for so long, discouraged that his portal-traveling abilities would not work. Whatever Dianite had done to him, it had stopped his powers from working all together – and it was infuriating him.

The Nether was his own personal hell, quite literally. With the floor made of netherrack, fire had spread quickly. He had very little room, and if he had fallen, the fire would have made its way up his entire body until it consumed him. He had eventually decided to sit and wait. It would be painful, but maybe his demise would be quick.

When he had heard others above him, the fire had already been trying to eat him alive. He let out a horrible scream, hoping to gain attention from those above. The last things he had screamed at had been pigmen. He hoped, beyond hope, that these would be people.

After a moment of listening to muffled voices, he noticed a hole form in the ceiling of his cell. The devil-like Guardian from earlier – Jace? – hopped down into the hole and began to put out the fire. He was saying something to someone above him, but Jay could not concentrate on what past the pain he was feeling. He just knew that the other Guardian was there, without his god behind him, and was grimacing at him like the sight was horrible.

It probably was, but Jay could not move to see it.

"Lara," he mumbled as the other Guardian entered the prison cell through the hole in the ceiling.

"Lara, could you heal him?" Jace asked.

Lara sent Jay a look that was mixed with pity and some lingering anger. "I could," she confirmed, before frowning over at Jace, "but… why should I?"

Jace frowned back at her. "Fine. Don't." He kicked off of the ground, flapping his wings twice to hover in place. "Let's go."

Lara watched Jace for a moment in silence.

"You're giving up?" She asked. "Just like that. All I have to tell you is 'no?'"

She shrugged and pumped her wings, taking into the air easily. "Well, if it's that simple, let's go, like you said. Let's leave Jay here to suffer for all eternity. I'm sure the wither skeletons and blazes will have a ball when they find him, lying weak and defenseless."

Jay got the notion that her words were more to get a rise than they were meaningful, but he supposed that he had attacked her god. Perhaps he deserved her ire.

Jace shrugged. "Maybe so, Lara. But maybe in one years – maybe in ten years – you'll wonder if you made the right choice," he pointed out. "Everyone has a flaw. Maybe yours is pride."

Lara shook her head at Jace, settling her feet back on the netherrack below. She walked over to Jay and set a hand on his chest.

Despite the pain Jay knew should have come at her touch, he felt a friendly, soothing warmth that was let off as her hand glowed a bright gold. He wondered what old magic she had gotten involved in to be able to heal, and then wondered whether or not that 'old magic' was just an ability she had been granted by her god. He felt comforted by the warmth, as opposed to pained like the burn of the fire. Oddly, it felt even as though the warmth latched on to him further than offering minor healing. His eyes slipped closed as the warmth continued to pool through his body.

Lara leaned her head down next to his ear. "If you ever attack the gods again, I will burn through all of your shadows and leave you nowhere to hide," she threatens in a whisper, "and then I will find you, and I will end you in the most painful way I can imagine. Jace won't be there to say you when I do. He won't be there to vouch for you."

When the healing stopped – albeit, leaving behind the foreign, comforting warmth – Jay's eyes opened. A faint, teasing smirk formed from his lips.

"Feisty one, aren't ya'," he stated to Lara, before shifting his attention to Jace, "she's a keeper."

"She's practically my sister," Jace retorted.

Lara straightened back up and looked over at Jace. "I regret my decision already," she lamented, "you were right, Jace. I do wonder if I made the right choice. Amazingly, it's only mere seconds later."

Jay's smirk grew slightly. "I meant for me," he corrected Jace.

"See you in the Overworld," he offered to both of them. "Oh, by the way. I'm still going to mess with Tom."

He opened a portal beneath himself and dropped through it, leaving the portal open as he did. After a quick bit of trouble, Jay was happy enough to hear Tom loudly offering his frustrations about his newly-destroyed base.

"Sound can travel through portals?" He could hear Jace ask to whom he presumed was still Lara.

"Yes, and… shouldn't you be seeing to it that he doesn't kill your charge? Before Dianite gets angry over two things?" Lara replied.

"Two?"

"Well, you did save Jay, and now you're allowing Thomas' home to be attacked."

Jay could hear Jace's wings frantically beat and then Lara laugh. Jay decided, to himself, that he liked the sound of her laughter. Even if it was negatively aimed at him, he liked it.

"Jace, you're such a child," Lara whispered, wings beating to signal her leave from the prison cell.

Jay waited a moment longer before closing the portal, content to hear her calling Jordan and Polaris out from a hiding spot.

He decided that he would work to win over the others.

Especially Mianite's Guardian.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I have returned! As I promised, I've managed to find the time available to edit the chapters for this again. I'm actually going to edit them all today so they'll be available for posting. There might be a small break between the end of this story and the beginning of the next story in the series, but that should only be long enough for me to start plotting out the chapters since the next one is both longer and a bit harder to decide where chapters should begin and end. Other than that, I'm really hoping to get back on a schedule with uploading everything and editing everything. I'll say this now: Expect the next chapter of this sometime in the middle of next week. I'll try to aim for weekly updates.<strong>_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Jay laughed as Jace hollered for Wizards. In response to his call, the apparent Wizards sent a message public to anyone with a chat-pad that seemed to unsympathetically acknowledge that "That's going to cost a lot…"

To Jay's mild delight, Lara had arrived. She landed next to Jace with another one of her nice laughs, clicking her tongue in half-hearted chiding when she looked over the ruins of Tom's base. "Poor, poor Thomas," she teased.

She glided over next to Jay, and Jay suddenly felt a bit abashed, though he wondered why. She stood a few inches shorter than him. While she was certainly intimidating still due to her status and the respect everyone seemed to have for her, it was the effect of that knowledge that made Jay feel strange. In anything, he supposed it was the same thing that made him think her laugh was favorable or that made him long to be closer to her.

He just did not know what 'it' was.

"Jay?" She said.

"Yes?" He returned, playfully batting his eyes at her. He paid no mind to the way Jace and Tom rolled their eyes as they attempted to collect and store Tom's fallen items.

"I've no problems with you messing with Thomas. I find it amusing, actually," she admitted, "but I would warn you to be wary. If you get Dianite's attention, it may not be so easy to find you again. He may just throw you in lava next time."

"Bastard got me when I was weak," he retorted. "Listen, Lara, I respect you, and by default, Mianite. Dianite, I don't."

Jay huffed. He flicked his wrist with a growl, sending Tom flying into the air. Jace shot off to catch him before he could come to any harm. Jay turned to Lara with a smile. "Now, it's just us," he joked.

Lara rolled her eyes at him. "Weak?" She echoed. "You were an idiot, that's what you were. All you had to do was fire an arrow straight at me. I was standing right there. But you did nothing. How would you ever expect me to believe you're powerful, when all you do is bark and not bite?" She laughed. "I'll bet the gods could've taken you if you'd not got them by surprise."

Jay stopped himself from responding immediately.

Why had he not shot her…? As she said, she had been lined up for a perfect shot. He had been trained all of his life to kill the gods, and if their Guardians happened to get in the way, then the Guardians were expendable. It was unnecessary to keep the Guardians alive; in fact, it was good to end them as well, to make sure no one could take the gods' place.

But…

Jay had not shot Lara. He had stopped himself. Hesitated.

Why?

"I had my… uh, reasons? You know. Strategic disadvantages and stuff," he rambled, trying to make an excuse for an action he could only describe was caused because he had simply not shot her.

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry. Shouldn't have done that…" He flicked his wrist and his bow appeared in his hands in a swaddle of black, orb-like particles. He offered it over to Lara. "It's the bow, so you can kick my ass. Though I doubt you need it."

Lara did not reach out to accept it. Jay wondered whether or not he should be pleased with it, but some part of him considered it a positive sign. Maybe Lara wanted to get to know him, too.

"I don't need it," she agreed, offering a shrug. "But I have no reason to harm you at the moment."

Jay smiled, both because he would be allowed to continue living and because it was definitely a good sign. "Good. Want to pull a prank on Jace?" He hovered in the air, holding out his hand to her. "He'll be really angry!"

Lara laughed quietly at him. "Fine," she replied, taking his hand. She kicked off of the ground and hovered at his side. "Nothing drastic, though. I'd rather not have to hear him whine for the next week."

He sighed. "Fine. Let's fill his house with water, along with a sign with a sarcastic remark about how he loves lava. Man… I've been off my game for too long. Let's do it anyway."

She offered him a small smile. "You've no clue how to prank without being harmful, do you?" She asked before adding, "the water and sign prank is expected by now. I can't possibly tell you how often Thomas and Nade have done that to him. Let's just fill his house with snow. He hates snow. It's too cold for him." She laughed. "Winter Wonderland for Jace. He'll hate us, but not enough to whine for long."

"Yeah. Or let's just keep messing with Tom afterwards. Takes out two in one," he suggested, flying towards Jace's house as he explained his plan. "I'm going to make a redstone room that will cause snow golems and blazes to fight to the death!"

"Those poor snow golems," Lara said, darting after him.

She smirked and pumped her wings, pushing easily past him. Jay waited a moment. She clearly knew her way around and to Jace's house. No doubt because she was the Guardian of the Overworld. She probably knew the entire Overworld by now.

"Keep up, Jay. Don't fall behind too much," she teased.

He smirked, melting into the shadows and darting after her, reappearing in her shadow.

"The darkness is my domain," he pointed out, keeping up with her.

Either she did not hear him, or she did not call him out on his claim over the darkness. He was grateful regardless. Being raised by Mianite, he was certain she would not react positively to him being a void-born in a sense more pure than Polaris was one.

Working with her on their prank against Jace, Jay found himself taking her distracted state for a good time to just enjoy her company. Lara did not seem so bad. Unlike Jay had been raised to believe, Mianite's Guardian was nothing like her creator. His own had said that Mianite preferred to stay out of things, and it seemed to Jay that Lara liked to be involved when she chose to be. Everything she did was done with precision that possibly bordered on the need for perfection, no doubt a trait she had picked up from needing to appease Mianite. She was nothing like his creator had told him she would be.

As soon as they finished, he pulled back to look at the sight from afar. Jace's house was successfully set up and rigged for the prank, but something was still missing.

"I have an idea," he said.

He closed his eyes, reaching into his connection with the Void, and forced the desert biome around them to change to one of snow. It would, of course, be unfortunate if the snow golems died even before they did their jobs. A blizzard drew in around them, ending only as the snow coated the entirety of Jace's home.

"Snow biome," he said, before yawning. Despite liking the night, forcing the biome to change had worn on him. "It's late. I'm gonna build myself a house and hit the hay."

Lara nodded at him. "Well, that works," she mused, turning to face him. "I wouldn't suggest you build here, in case Jace comes back. The Wizards have an old temple not far from here. You could stay there. I would offer you a place at Mianite's temple, but Mianite may not be pleased to sense you around, either."

Jay offered her a smile. "I'm going to ask them to build me a house. I'll find it. Thanks, Lara." He vanished, trusting she would find her way to her home easily enough.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Lara rubbed at her eyes and dropped from the rafters of her home to answer a knock at the front door. Of course, the rafters of her old, tiny cabin was not the most comfortable place to sleep – especially not after being so used to sleeping in Mianite's temple – but she had feared that Mianite would somehow sense Jay had been near her. Sleeping on the bed in the cabin itself had felt strange as well, although she was unsure why.<p>

She walked over to the door and opened it, flicking her wings in order to wake them. "If someone's not dying," she warned.

Jace growled a bit. "Lara, I know you did it," he whined, "Plus, come look what Jay had built!"

Jace pulled her along behind him to Tom's rebuilt base, where a large spaceship now hovered behind. The rockets attached to the bottom as launchers were, of course, built from TNT cannons that were aimed unmistakably at the base.

Jay laughed, flying up behind both of them and wrapping an arm around either of them. "Morning, Ladies!"

Lara grumbled. She loved morning and typically woke with the sun, but her uncomfortable sleeping position made her wings still thrum unhappily. She looked over the sight and hummed. "I prefer blue TNT cannons, but that works, too," she thought aloud.

"_Lara,_" Jace stressed.

She shrugged. "I didn't do anything, Jace, and neither did Jay. Where's your proof?" She asked.

Jay smiled. "I did this, along with your house. Lara did nothing."

Somehow, Lara could just imagine him hiding crossed fingers, but Jace seemed to accept his words. Lara elbowed Jay in the side in return, turning her own attention to Jace. "Jay is a monster," she said, "an evil, evil monster. But remember, you wanted me to save the monster. So he's your problem, not mine. The burden is on you. Someday, Jace, you will look back and wonder if you made the right choice."

She ignored the brief look of hurt that crossed Jay's face. Surely, he had heard them talking back in the Nether? She brushed off the small feeling of guilt as Jay released both she and Jace and started towards the base.

"Hey, guys, want to come in?" He asked, as though the base was his to show off. He walked inside, leaving the door open.

Lara kept out of the base, but Jace walked forward. Lara had the distinct feeling that something was wrong with the base and that was why Jay was so nonchalant about entering. She heard a lever flick and Jace sigh out, "TNT… cannon."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, flying away as things started to explode around the base. As she watched from afar, her thoughts trailed to Sonja and Tucker. They would most likely be worried or angry over what was happening because Tom has had to have his base rebuilt so many times. Her gaze moved to the spot where Jay had 'died' the day before, noticing that the chest of items was still there. Tucker must not have grabbed his stuff before leaving. Probably due to the commotion that occurred shortly after. Yesterday's events would also undoubtedly have annoyed him.

Lara placed a sign down near the base, grabbed the items, and flew off towards Tucker and Sonja's castle.

* * *

><p>Jace looked up from the destruction and then hung his head. "I'm going to have to help rebuild this again… Tom's going to be so pissed," he lamented before turning his attention over to Jay. "Why did you do that? Why TNT cannons? You don't get the whole 'no large destruction' thing, do you? We don't destroy things unless they're fixable within a certain amount. This – this is pure destruction!"<p>

Jay shrugged while Jace gestured at the ruins of Tom's base. "I'm new," he joked, kicking off of the ground and flying off.

Jace was sure he was going to go pester someone else. He kicked off of the ground, making to follow him when a message from Tom came in on his chat-pad.

"_I saw what he did. Mind if I get him back?"_

Jace shrugged and replied, "_Yeah, go for it."_

He followed closely behind Jay, pausing only when he noticed the sigh Lara had left which told him to behave. "I always behave. I'm wonderful," he grumbled.

After considering how Jay seemed to try to be near Lara, Jace quickly amended his private message to Tom.

"_Don't get Lara involved if you see her, Tom."_

"_Don't worry. I'm a good shot."_

Jace frowned. _"Normal bows won't hurt him."_

Tom replied fast enough, and Jace wondered where Tom was. He must have been able to see Jay well enough to be so confident. _"But the Godslayer will," _Tom pointed out.

Jace continued to follow Jay, looking down to close out of the chat. When he looked back up, Jay was gone and Jace did not recognize where he had been led. He stopped flying after a few more moments of trying to find his way, spinning himself in a circle to look for anything familiar.

"And… I'm lost," Jace sighed. "I hate the Overworld."

* * *

><p>Jay stopped flying when an arrow went slicing through the air, burrowing itself in the mountainside that he was just about to cross in front of. "Tom, what the hell? If I get hit with that, I'll die," he snapped, taking a guess on who would follow him and attack him.<p>

"See how it feels to respawn in your bed," Tom demanded.

Jay sighed. "Immortals die for good if they get slain," he corrected, though his voice was lost to the wind as another arrow was loosed.

The arrow would have hit him, had it not gotten set off-track at the last possible second. Jay flew down as he noticed Polaris wrestling with Tom's arm. The little dragoness had saved him.

"Polaris!" He called over her small, angry growls, "good girl!"

He stole the bow from Tom and scooped Polaris up as well, ramming his foot between Tom's legs. "The fuck was that about, Tom?" He demanded.

Jay turned to thank whoever had luckily brought Polaris around just in time to save his life, but no one was there. Polaris chirruped up at him happily as she climbed up onto his shoulder. She nuzzled her snout against the side of his face, letting out purrs, before lying along the length of his shoulders.

Jay frowned. "How did you do it, girl? Was it Ianite?" He asked, sighing. "Let's find Jordan. He's such a worry-wart." He was sure, despite her apparent love for Jordan, that she would agree with his statement.

The Enderdragon hopped from his shoulder and trotted forward, tail waving idly and wings occasionally twitching when a breeze came by them. She flapped them once or twice, but scrambled back slightly when her feet left the ground. Her frantic movement of her wings when she managed to get into the air, even if only a bit, caused her to tumble unceremoniously back to the ground.

Jay smiled. Clearly, she wanted to fly, but it seemed that the motion scared her. He understood. Flying was amazing, but learning could be hard. "It's okay, Polly." He paused. "Wait, can I call you Polly? Nevermind. But you'll learn to fly, I promise."

He reached Jordan's house and handed Polaris over to him with a thankful remark, which earned him a laugh from the mortal. "That's where she ran off to?" Jordan asked. "She really is quick. I thought she was just chasing a chicken that was around, and then I looked up and she was gone."

Jordan smiled. "Thanks for finding her, Jay. And, uh… I'm sorry you almost died yesterday."

"Yeah, it happens," Jay said, not wanting to linger on the topic. "Catch you later. I'm going to ask a special lady to dinner on my new Love Boat."

Jordan sighed at him. "It's a ship…"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Jay replied. He really just wanted to spend time with Lara on the boat he had commandeered, specifically for the purpose of getting to know her.

"She was headed over to Tucker's," Jordan offered, "dropping off his stuff, and trying to calm him down."

Jay looked over at Jordan. "Haha, he's salty," he joked, before returning to a less-playful tone, "why do you assume her? There is Sonja. Tucker doesn't scare me."

Jordan shrugged. "Sonja agrees with Tucker. She's just not as ready to start a fight, unless you provoke her," he informed. "Besides, Lara tends to be a voice of reason."

"Whatever, dude," Jay sighed, "I'll prank you later, so don't get salty."

Before Jordan could reply, Jay took off towards what he assumed was Tucker and Sonja's house. It was impressive. A castle, probably built by the Wizards. He could see where the castle had some of the same architectural patterns as the temple Jay had spent the night sleeping in.

"Lara," he called, drawing out the sound of her name.

* * *

><p>Lara flinched a bit as she heard Jay call her name. Admittedly, she had been hoping he would stay distracted with Jace and Tom, but it appeared that her plans were not about to be left alone. It did not help matters that Tucker seemed to be in the mood to search for a fight, or that she knew Tucker was partially reacting due to what Jay had done not only to the Mianitees, but to Mianite as well.<p>

"Is that him?" Tucker asked.

Lara held up her hands, attempting to seem placating. She understood why Tucker was being so angry. He had all right to be. But the Purge was specifically set up to be the only time the Mianitees were allowed to cause reckless mayhem. It was all Lady Ianite could handle.

"Tucker, think this through," she advised, "we don't need any fighting. It's not the Purge, remember? You're not supposed to fight with people outside of the Purge. It will hurt Lady Ianite."

Her thoughts trailed to the energy she had used to heal Jay. Part of it had attached to Jay, connecting him to her. She barely hid the grimace that came with the thought of that connection.

"Tucker. Tucker, wait. Tucker," she called as he brushed past her.

Jay came around the corner and was met immediately with a punch to the face, which left Lara flinching. Her wings tightened against her back, trembling as Jay admitted between multiple punches that he probably deserved at least the first.

"Tucker," Lara called, "Tucker, stop! That… That's enough, Tucker!"

Her hands came up to cover her mouth and hide a yelp. With every hit Tucker landed against Jay, she felt it echo back at her two-fold.

"Tucker, please, stop, you don't understand what I did to save him," she begged.

Tucker stepped back from Jay as the void-born Guardian swayed a bit. "What did you do?" Tucker inquires.

Jay lifted a finger. "My face hurts. Nap sounds good," he mumbles. His hand fell and he collapsed, snoring lightly.

Lara hissed in a bit of pain, rolling her shoulders. Despite Jay being the one to fall and land on his wings, she felt like someone had rammed her back against a wall. It did not help her any that she had pinned her wings against her spine hard enough that the pain was only increased.

"His body is bound to mine for a while longer," she admitted, "he lacked the energy available to heal himself, so I allowed him to borrow some of mine. Until his body have the capability to full heal itself, anything done to him will affect me."

She glanced down at Jay and sighed. "If you punch him, I feel it. If something worse happens to him, then… well, you're smart enough to understand."

Tucker sighed. "That's somewhat creepy," he commented, "so, what do we do with him?"

"That's creepy?" Lara asked. "You're the one who partakes in murder sprees once a week."

She sighed at him. "I'll take him back to where I'm staying." Before Tucker could say anything, she corrected herself, "no, not the temple, don't worry. He'll be out of the way with me."

Tucker shrugged. "Whatever. Don't have too much fun, you crazy kids," he joked.

Lara shook her head and grabbed Jay, carrying him back to the cabin she had spent the last night sleeping at. She set him down on the bed, assuming he would rather wake up on a comfortable surface than wake on the cold, stone floor. When she was content that he was lying safely, she kicked off of the floor and flew back into the rafters. She sat with her back against one of the support beams of the cabin, closing her eyes to feign sleep.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Woo! That was fun. I actually edited all of these immediately after I posted up the last chapter. Ha. So, all of the chapters are written and prepared to go up. I also, while I was awake that morning, planned out the chapters for the next two in this series, although I haven't edited those yet. Those will be edited sometime over the next two weeks, I think - or later. It depends. My semester is ending next week (although 90% of my stuff is already donewill be done by Monday) so I'll hopefully have a lot more time to put to doing stuff here over the summer. That's my goal, at least. **__**There will be another chapter next week, probably on Thursday again. I hope you guys are enjoying this. I'm really sorry it's taken so long for me to get back to this.**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Jay woke up groggily, vaguely aware that the pain had stopped, save for a slight pain still in his head. "Damn, my head hurts," he mumbled.

He was aware that he was lying on a bed, which was comfortable despite his oddly stiff back. "Weird," he muttered as he took a quick look around the room. "Where am I?"

"My home," Lara answered.

Jay looked in the direction of her voice, noticing that she was up in the rafters, eyes still closed. He wondered, briefly, if he had woken her, but the way she looked was more akin to pain than a rude awakening.

She forced a small laugh. "I figured if you wouldn't invite me over, I would just have to invite you here," she attempts to joke, but he can still read the pain in both her voice and expression.

Jay laughed weakly, forcing himself to get off of the bed. "I was actually coming to ask you out… to dinner," he told her, feeling a bit awkward. "You should have laid on the bed. Not me."

"I couldn't have possibly gone out to dinner with you," she informed. "You made a mess. It's my job, as the oldest one here, to pick it up before the mortals tear themselves apart over what happened, or, as would be unfortunate for you, call upon the gods to clean the mess."

Jay sighed. "When will you be free, then?" He asked, opening the door only to immediately shield his eyes from the light that was silently threatening to burn them out of his skull because of how bright it was outside.

"Whenever I finish cleaning up your mess," she answered.

She waited a moment before adding, "You have a concussion, Jay. Your head's going to be throbbing for a few hours. Pick four words, send them to someone, and tell them to message you every once in a while to test how well you remember them. Don't fall asleep again."

Jay paused, absently wondering how she knew before recalling that she had healed him previously. Maybe she could just sense certain things.

He typed a message on his chat-pad, watching as a hologram appeared in front of Lara.

She shook her head at him. "Not me. Message someone else. You won't want me remembering anything for you," she scolded. She took in a sharp breath as she shuffled her wings, back arching slightly. She mumbled something else.

Jay cocked his head to the side, but turned his attention to trying to figure out exactly where the cabin was located. It was in the middle of the forest, but he could see the Mianitees' area close by.

"Sorry, Lara, couldn't hear that last part…"

"Jay, I saved you yesterday by trapping you."

Jay raised a brow, blinking a few times and pinching himself. "What? I'm not trapped…"

"Aren't you?" Lara asked. "I'm not stupid, Jay. You have strong feelings for me. If I told you that every single little physical pain you get is thrown onto me twice as hard and without the relief of passing out, would you still cause trouble? Knowing it would lead to you being a target?"

He did not respond, and she added, "You couldn't hurt me then. You won't hurt me now – and that's the trap. You can't do anything you're meant to do until your energy replenishes enough to take over where mine is currently feeding it and keeping you stable enough to continue existing."

Jay sat on the bed, putting his head in his hands. She was hurting herself by healing him. He was hurting her by allowing her to keep him alive. The warmth he had felt in the Nether – the warmth that, still, had not left him – was her energy wrapping itself around his, urging and coaxing his gently to heal itself.

"I have an idea," he said slowly.

He did not want to hurt her.

"What?" She hummed at him.

He sighed. It was not going to be fun. But… he would do it. If only for her. For Lara.

"I'll hibernate in the Void," he told her, already opening a portal to the Void.

Lara turned to look at him, frowning. Her gaze briefly flickered to the hole forming in her floor, but it quickly went back to him. "Jay," she breathed, "Jay, no…"

She swung her legs over the side of the beam she was sitting on, spreading her wings in order to stretch them as best as she could manage in such a small, confined space.

Jay offered her a smile. "Don't worry. I come from the Void. I'll be fine," he promised, "and, in turn, so will you. I'm going to cut the energy connection when I drop. It'll force me into hibernation. I should be up… soon."

"What if you're not fine?" She asked. "I have—" She cut herself off and seemed to correct herself, "_We_ have no way of getting to the Void."

"Polaris does. So long as you have physical contact with any void-born, it protects you," he told her with a shrug. "So, see you soon. Blow up Tom's house once in a while, will ya'?"

He did not want to leave her. He did not want to enter the Void, but to protect her…

"I… I will do no such thing," she growled half-heartedly at him, looking down. "I won't clean up after messes you'd instigate without even being present. It will be no fun…"

He sighed. "Fine. But tell him I'll be back." He took a few steps towards the rift, which had grown large enough for him to drop into easily. "I'll see you soon. Tell Tucker he need serious attitude improvements as well."

"Don't expect that date when you get back," Lara said, "I don't give dates to people who leave. To think, I might've considered it. How useless."

"Should've expected that," Jay muttered, feeling dejected.

He allowed himself to fall backward and the rift shut behind him. As he fell – floated, really – he could feel the warmth seem to snap away from him, leaving him feeling tired and as cold as he had before it had come anywhere near him. It was strangely funny how unwelcomed the cold felt now.

* * *

><p>Jace poked his head into the doorway of Lara's home. While it was odd for Lara to leave her door open wide enough for a creeper to sneak inside, he did not bother to linger on it. "Jay, Tucker told me you'd be here! Tom's out for blood—wait, where's Jay?"<p>

The only person in the cabin was Lara, looking almost blank. Jace recognized the signs of her being upset immediately, but he had learned when he was young never to poke an upset Lara. It typically ended with a shouting match.

"Gone," she said. "He's gone, Jace."

She hopped from the rafters and brushed past him, walking outside. "Tell Thomas that he's lost his kill. Tell him to get over his petty little grudge."

Jace frowned. "Well, you're being a little cynical," he commented, "when is he going to be back?"

"I don't know. I'm not his keeper," she answered, whirling around to glare at him. "And, as a matter of fact, I'm not yours, either. Shoo! Leave me be. I'm not here to solve your problems and answer your every little question." She waved her hands at him as though waving away a pest before she flew off toward Mianite's temple.

Jace sighed. "Fine!"

He sulked as he made his way back to Tom's house. It was the third one since Jay had arrived, since the Wizards had just remade the second base over and over again. Tom had been wanting to play with TNT for a while, so Jace was hoping that he could join in on causing some destruction.

When he entered the base, Tom held TNT up to give him. "TNT. The rest of the statue of Dianite's face."

Jace smirked and took off with Tom and the explosives. They passed Tucker, Sonja, Jordan, and Polaris who were all sitting on the hill overlooking where the destruction would be occurring. Tucker followed behind them while Sonja playfully joked about "boys and their TNT" and Jordan played with Polaris.

Jordan smiled as Polaris pounced after his hands and feet. She was young enough to be entertain by anything and everything that moved, as long as she could catch it without the use of her wings. "Hey, Sonja? You think, if I asked, Lara would teach Polaris to fly? I'd ask Jace, but he gets stuck between rocks and walls a lot, so I don't think he'd be a great teacher."

Jace huffed a bit as he set up the explosives, overhearing Jordan's half-hearted insult. He could fly just fine. The Overworld was just very confusing, and with it changing constantly because the Mianitees would alter it, he could never keep up with the alterations like Lara could. The Nether never changed. The Nether was so much easier.

Sonja snickered as Jace landed in front of them with Tom and Tucker walking up the hill.

"Watch the show," Jace cheered.

Three fireworks shot upward into the sky, exploding in a large burst of colors even as the TNT went off in unison, causing debris to be thrown up into the air as well. Polaris seemed to enjoy the spectacle, pushing onto her hind lights to get a better look. Her eyes were lit up, shining bright.

Jordan looked over at her and laughed. "Oh no. Ianite's Guardian is in love with fireworks," he joked as Polaris darted over, tugging on the sleeves of his jacket with her teeth. He nodded. "I see them. They're pretty."

Polaris whined a bit and Jordan sighed. "Jace, can you get Jay? She gets like this about him," he muttered.

Jace shook his head. "He's gone. No idea where. Lara won't say," he informed, "she's pissed off for some reason."

"He just… disappeared?" Jordan asked. "Huh… but I thought…? He said he was going to ask her out on a dinner date. I told him Lara was at Tucker's…" He glanced over at Tucker. "Did he not show up?"

Tucker offered a sheepish grin. "Yeah… sort of. But there were headed to Lara's old place."

Jordan nodded. "Let's investigate."

Jace followed them to Lara's cabin, frowning. He had not seen anything odd there. Jay had been gone, and Lara had been left alone and upset. He knew Lara was occasionally a bit… stubborn and set in her ways, so maybe the date plan had not gone over well? But, why then would Lara had been so upset about Jay being gone?

Tom smirked as they approached. "Tharr she blows, mateys."

Jace blinked and looked over at him. "You're a pirate again," he pointed out.

Polaris purred softly and curled her tail loosely around Jordan's throat. She settled against his shoulders. Jace smiled a bit. Lady Ianite was involved with the pirates, was she not? Polaris was Ianite's Guardian, so of course she would feel connected to them.

"I guess Polaris likes the pirates. Makes sense," he admitted.

They entered the cabin and Jordan scanned the room with his eyes. Jace frowned because, as before, he saw nothing strange.

Tom gasped. "Tharr be a crack in this vessel, mateys!"

Tucker sighed and Jordan frowned. "Tom, shut up," Tucker groaned.

"He is right," Sonja offered.

Polaris raised her head and hopped from Jordan's shoulders. She sniffed around the crack, which Jace had missed only because it was so small. She sat down, and after a moment, opened her mouth like she was about to light something on fire. Jace immediately scooped her up.

"Nope," he announced, "Lara will kill me if her house is lit on fire. No fire breath. Bad dragon!"

Jordan carefully took Polaris from him, frowning. "Maybe…"

He set Polaris down again. Instead of spewing fire like Jace anticipated, she let out a shriek. The crack widened suddenly, stretching until a hole had formed. Polaris huffed in satisfaction.

Jace blinked at the floor. "That's… That's a dimensional portal," he said, "to the Void. The Void is… not a good place to be. I-I don't suggest we go there."

Polaris purred and walked into the hole. Her razor sharp claws easily found purchase against the ground closest to the hole, digging through it. Jordan, meanwhile, panicked.

"Jace! Get her!"

Jace dove downward into the hole, a game akin to cat and mouse beginning between them. Whenever Jace got close enough, Polaris escaped him. He continued to chase after her, feeling his energy slowly waning, until she could no longer dig through the ground due to it being replaced by bedrock. Above them, the portal closed, trapping them both underneath the shield Mianite had created to stop the Shadows. Oddly, with Polaris held tight in his arms, he felt his energy stabilize, no longer slipping from him.

"Jay?" He called, flying blindly through the darkness.

Polaris attempted to wriggle free of his grasp, stopping only when Jace obligingly loosened his grip. She started to stumble and fall into the seemingly bottomless abyss. Desperate not to, she clung onto Jace, refusing to let go even as her eyes wandered curiously. The Void, despite never being in it, seemed vaguely familiar to her.

Jace stopped flying when he saw something just floating in the nothingness, suspended in midair. It was a young boy – maybe ten or so – who had the same appearance as Jay. He looked surprisingly peaceful for being in the Void. Jace flew over and tapped the kid on the shout, realizing that his calling was unsuccessful. As his hands made contact, he felt his consciousness slip. He feared immediately for his own safety. Passing out in the Void was dangerous, and he worried that he would plummet to whatever bottom it had.

His eyes opened and he noticed that instead of falling to the bottom of the Void, he was standing in an open plain. The area was vast, but the only things in it were a tree and the same young boy Jace had seen floating in the Void. The boy was sat underneath the tree and raised his eyes to meet Jace's own.

"Hey, Jace," he greeted.

Jace blinked at the boy, frowning. He was absently aware that Polaris was missing, but he had a feeling that she was fine.

"Hey," he returned, "how'd you know my name, kid?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "I forgot I look like this," he muttered, before raising his voice to address Jace. "Anyways, it's Jay. My body took this form to preserve energy while I hibernate. We're communicating in my mind."

"What are you preserving energy for?" Jace asked. "I thought you were just going to ask Lara out for a date. Although… I guess I thought Tom was going to kill you, too, but then he came back all salty…"

"Date?" Jay growled at him. "Ha! She doesn't give a damn. Selfish Mianite brat. She told me she didn't want to date me. Just… Just go, Jace."

The world shifted around Jace and he noticed that he was back to floating in the Void himself, with Polaris looking at him inquisitively. He waited a moment before looking up, noticing that there was a light above them.

"Hurry," a voice called to him.

He pumped his wings, flying out of the hole with Polaris. As soon as his feet touched the floor of Lara's cabin, he set the other Guardian down, allowing himself to drop to his knees. He could hear the Mianitees murmuring concernedly in his direction, but his thoughts trailed to how Jay had acted.

He slammed his fists into the floor with a snarl, causing Polaris to jump and then cautiously creep forward, sniffing warily at his hands. The dragoness let out a concerned burble of noise, tipping her head to one side.

Jace, however, was livid.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: There's only three more chapters for this one. I'll upload the next one next week, on Thursday again.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Jace heard Tucker inch away from him. "Jace, bud, how're ya' doin'?" He asked cautiously.

Tom smirked. "It be obvious he can't get any booty!"

Jordan rolled his eyes. "Tom, no. Jace, what's up?"

Jace shut his eyes. "I'm going to kill him," he muttered, before raising his voice, "I'm going to kill Jay if he ever shows his damn head around here again! How… How dare he?! Lara wouldn't be beating herself up if she didn't care about him!"

He drew himself up to his feet and paced back and forth across the floor. "Lara's been through everything. I've never seen her so… so hurt before," he mumbled, "and for him to do that to her… to leave her… I'll kill him."

Jordan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let's go to her. I'm sure she can tell us more about what's happened," he suggested.

Jace shot ahead of them as they headed to Mianite's temple. He barely caught notice of Jordan telling him to calm down and Polaris hissing in agreement as he passed by them.

When they entered the temple, Jace immediately walked to where he knew Lara liked to hide. He had learned her mannerisms well enough, and had spent enough time with her at the temple to know all of her tricks. He pressed a button and a stairwell opened up from the floor near one of the fountains.

"Lara," he called as he walked down the path.

"Go away, Jace," Lara snapped. "I told you to leave me be!"

Jace growled. She was hurting so much, and it was clear to Jace that she was. Even if the Mianitees would take it as her just being upset, Jace knew better. He had spent his entire existence learning how Lara functioned. He had spent his whole life following her, aiming to be like her, like any brother would when faced with a sibling they looked up to. Lara was so strong normally – so brave – and now she was broken.

"Don't worry, Lara. I know what the bastard did. That's why I'm going to slay him in his sleep," he whispered.

He turned, sweeping Polaris off of the floor when no one was looking at him. If Polaris was his safe trip to the Void, then fine – he would kidnap her for the length of time it took to get back at Jay. He would teach Jay not to hurt Lara.

Polaris growled questioningly as Jace flew back to the cabin with her. When she opened up a portal for him, he dropped them both into it. She squeaked out a tiny roar in protest, squirming in his arms, and Jace growled back at her. Polaris shut her mouth as if understanding why he had brought her along. She glared up at him.

"I'm coming for you, bastard," he said.

* * *

><p>Lara was trying pointedly to ignore the Mianitees.<p>

It had hurt when her energy had snapped back to her, but she felt worse that she had caused Jay to return to the Void. If something happened to him, how could she forgive herself? She was meant to protect things, not harm them. Had she done something wrong? Had she somehow hurt him?

"Come on, what happened, Lara?" Jordan asked.

Lara hugged her knees tightly against her chest, burying her face in them. "Please, just leave me alone… go away, please," she begged, "I don't want to deal with you right now, Jordan. I… I just want Jay back…"

Jordan offered a smile. "He'll be back. Just tell Jace that. He wants to murder him. Speaking of which…" He glanced around. "Polaris!"

Lara glanced briefly around. Polaris was gone, and so was Jace. Her mind raced for a moment, realizing that Jace was already gone. Certainly, she could chase after him – she would probably be fast enough to catch him – but she felt frozen in place. The Void was terrifying. She had been taught never to go into the Void. It would kill her.

She lifted her head enough to meet Jordan's eyes. "It's no use. Jace won't listen to me when he's this dead-set on something. He never has," she mumbles, "don't worry. He won't hurt Polaris. He can't – not if he wants to get out with his sanity intact. Going through the Void without the proper protection is dangerous. It will destroy your mind. It'll rip you apart from the inside-out."

Jordan frowned. "Sounds like it sucks down there. And to live there!" He sighed, pushing himself to his feet. "But if he kills Jay, Polaris will snap. He'll let go, go insane, and lose her!"

Lara followed him with her eyes. If Jace let go of Polaris, then she would not only lose Jay, but she would lose her brother as well. Too many thoughts were running through her mind to pick any single thought out as important. Jace was important; Jay was important; Polaris was important. But… how?

"Your armor was fashioned by Ianite, Jordan," she pointed out, "Ianite is the Goddess of the End, and the End is part of the Void. If you want a way into the Void, go grab your armor and hop in, but… but this isn't my problem. It isn't my problem what happens to the other Guardians. Jace is a big boy; he can make his own decisions. It's about time I let him make them."

It was her job to protect them. It was her job to defend the Guardians, and she was supposed to protect them. She was supposed to protect Jace from making stupid, idiotic decisions; she was supposed to protect Polaris from getting harmed.

But Jay? Jay was not like them.

Jay was a foolish Guardian who felt feelings for her that she did not understand.

Jordan frowned. "You're here, there, and everywhere right now. Get some rest. I'll go wait. See you soon," he offered, exiting the room.

* * *

><p>Jace smirked, rearing his fist back and punching at the peaceful face of the young boy who was floating in the Void. As soon as his fist made contact, the same slipping feeling came over him as it had before. He found himself in the same plain, looking at a ten-year-old Jay.<p>

"Trying to kill a ten-year-old, Jace?" Jay mocked.

"The ten-year-old's just the illusion. Nah, it's the asshole behind the image that I'm in the mood to see gone," Jace replied. "The bastard who hurt Lara. I don't care who, or what, or how old they are. No one hurts her like you did and gets to tell the tale."

"Come at me. One on one. You die here, you die in the Void, bastard," Jay growled at him.

Jace gave him a sharp look. Yes, the bet was horrible and probably not in his favor at all, but for Lara, Jace was willing to risk his life. After all, she had so many times for him – and she had already given up definite safety for Jay. If Jay wanted to throw that away, then fine, he could.

"Trust me, I won't be dying, brat," Jace snapped back at him, "and even if I do, there's a dragon waiting for you. One who will eventually miss Jordan, even if she likes you? She's programmed to obey Jordan. It's in a Guardian's blood to obey their charges and their god."

Jay smirked. "Too bad you won't live to see it."

With blinding speed, Jay appeared behind Jace. He punched the older Guardian in the ribs, darting away just as quickly with a simple "boop!" tauntingly. Jace covered the area he'd been hit and growled, spinning around.

"Oh, how cute. You're cheating. Won't be real victory, then, if you do win," he teased, smirking. "Cheaters. Are. Worthless."

Jace lunged forward and Jay ducked, jabbing him in the stomach as Jace passed above him. "I vow I'm doing no cheating. Imma whoop your ass fair and square." He smirked and added, "Jace, I lived in the fucking Void! All I could do was train!"

Jace barely managed to catch himself in the air, landing on the ground when he did. "Against what? Shadows?" He laughed. "Kid, I grew up fighting ghasts and blazes and wither skeletons. I fought creatures designed to kill. You fought figments designed for your skills. My god had no trouble with trying to kill me, especially—"

He lunged forward again, claws extended outward in preparation to rip Jay apart, "—especially after I met Lara and she taught me what's right."

"Dammit, Jace. Come on, would it really look good to Lara if I killed you?!"

Jay collapsed to the ground, coughing blood onto the grass below him. Jace stopped short of attacking him. "Dammit, too much… energy," Jay mumbled. He glanced up at Jace. "Just do it, Jace. I've lived long enough. Tell Lara I l-l… Ugh, a damn wimp in my own mind."

Jace walked forward, leaning down and smirking at him. His golden eyes glinted dangerously, but he kept himself calm. "You are a wimp," he agreed, "you're a coward. You're just as prideful as Lara is, but you're blind if you can't tell how many pieces you broke her into when you left. She's locked herself in her damn god's temple and won't talk to any of us. Wouldn't even stop me when I told her I was going to kill you."

He grabbed Jay's chin, forcing their eyes to meet. "I'm not going to tell Lara you love her. When you man up, you can."

Jay growled, spitting blood and saliva in Jace's face. "Kill me, bastard," he demanded, almost pleadingly.

As much as Jace wanted to oblige him, he would not. It would look as badly to Lara if Jace killed Jay, as it would if the reversed happened. He scowled instead, ignoring the spit and blood on his face.

"Nah, that would be a mercy. You see, the way I see it, your punishment should be going back and seeing what you broke. Because, right now? I'm not even sure the gods will be able to put her back together again."

He shoved Jay's chin away from him and got to his feet. "When you're ready to grow up and deal with your problems, the Overworld's waiting for you," he added. "Now do us all a favor and give me the express ticket out. I need to return a dragon."

Jay grinned. "Or I could take the dragon and leave you for insanity in the Void," he suggested, "or I feed off of your energy when you die and return faster."

Jace shrugged. "You could," he agreed, "but I doubt you could take everyone. And, sorry to disappoint you, but there's a reason Lara's the healer. She has tons more energy to spare. I'd barely get you standing upright. And the dragon's not worth shit in terms of energy 'cause she's too little. You'd suck her dry in a second."

Jace glared. "So, look's like your only option other than making this easy on all of us, is to kidnap Jordan's dragon. Well—" He winced in false sympathy, "—provided she likes you after she realizes that you won't give her back to Jordan. Otherwise, you two are at even playing fields, aren't ya? Both void-borns. Only... she's a dragon and you're... a bratty kid. She'd rip you to shreds in a heartbeat."

Jay growled. "Go on, keep insulting me. Prove that you are the Devil's Advocate, Jace. Tell everyone I said 'bye.' 'Cause I'm staying here. _This. Is. My. Domain. I am God, the Heir of the Shadows after my father died,_" he yelled.

Jace felt shadows ram into him, blasting him back into consciousness. He realized that he and Polaris were floating once again in the Void, only this time, Jay was wide awake as well.

"Get the fuck outta my house," Jay growled, forcing both Jace and Polaris aboveground.

Jace smirked and laughed, scooping Polaris up off of the cabin floor and twirling her around. "Cute kid," he commented, "I give him by the next morning to come running, trying to conquer us and failing."

Inwardly, he added that he hoped everyone else would be prepared if something really did occur.

* * *

><p>Jay was furious.<p>

How dare Jace accuse him.

How dare Jace attack him.

"I vowed not to attack them," he seethed into the darkness. "Lara keeps me from doing so, but…"

The shadows lengthened and swirled, forming a small, black puppy that whimpered up at him.

"Seek Lara, young one. I will be within you," Jay said, sending the puppy to the Overworld. He followed it with his consciousness, allowing himself to split what energy he had between his body and its as it ran toward Mianite's temple.

* * *

><p>Lara was sitting along against the podium at the front of the temple. The Mianitees have all left, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She wanted to laugh and remark aloud about how dangerous a thing that was, leaving her to her mind. She had not been alone since meeting Jace, and now, loneliness felt so strange. She curled her wings around herself, as if that would block out the thoughts that desired her torment.<p>

Something nuzzled against her wings, and she carefully drew them away. She nudged the creature carefully with her wings. More than likely, it was Polaris coming to check up on her. She did not feel like entertaining the Enderdragon, though.

"Jordan, take Polaris and go. I'm glad she and Jace are back, but you don't need to rub it in. I thought you were better than that," she scolds, absently wondering when Jordan had returned.

"Lara, it's me."

She moved her wings to get a better look. In front of her was a black puppy with brilliant blue eyes that made her nearly choke on the knot in her throat. She nudged it slightly, attempting to make it leave her alone.

"I am too weak to leave the Void and must appear in this form," Jay informed, refusing to leave her side.

"Oh…?" She lowered her wings and looked down. Relief bubbled in her, but quickly vanished.

"T-Then you shouldn't do this. It's more important to worry about yourself. You have no ties to the Overworld, Jay; you've no reason to care for anything but yourself," she said, swallowing past the knot in her throat and hoping regret was not evident in her tone. "Worry about yourself. After all, that's what you chose to do."

"Dammit, Lara. I did this for you. I was too much of a wimp to tell you how I felt. Now I that I'm a damn dog, I've gathered the courage to tell you that," Jay replied.

Lara kept quiet, and Jay continued, softer and almost more hesitantly, "Lara, will you spend the rest of our immortal lives with me?"

"No," she answered, "I won't."

She could never.

Mianite would never allow her to, would he?

She was already going to be in so much trouble with him.

Jay sighed. "Fine. I respect that. Just… stay safe tomorrow, alright? Tomorrow, shit hits the fan."

As the dog melted into the shadows, disappearing, Lara looked at where it had been. "Tomorrow?" She repeated. "Well, alright. Tomorrow then."

She stood up and flew off to find Jace. "I hope Lady Ianite will forgive us… and Mianite will forgive me," she thought aloud as she flew.

After quickly meeting up with Jace and offering him a fake smile and a story about how she felt 'better', Lara flew over to the home of the Wizards. "Waglington," she called, "I have a request."

The wizard nodded and looks at her curiously. It was not often the Guardians had requests outside of homes being built. Lara offered a brave face. "I want you to remove my immortality." Waglington narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"But all that extra energy—" He started protesting.

"—will poison me," Lara interrupted, "yes, I know, Waglington. It's just... I'm so tired..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: The next chapter will be up next Thursday, and then after that, there's only one left. **_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Jay stood in the Void, his hair swaying in a non-existent breeze. Unlike their usual dark blue, his eyes were glowing white, standing out start against the eternal, endless darkness in the realm. He looked out upon the creatures he had made, watching them as they moved and searched. Despite how weak he felt, they moved effortlessly.

"My creations," he rasped, "you are the last of my energy. After you have given it your all, I will unleash all my energy." He hesitated a moment before adding, "If it doesn't take them out, then at last I will enjoy the clutches of death."

As the day rose, he watched his creatures move out over the Overworld, lurking in the shadows. They followed behind the four Mianitees he had been around so often in his short time in the Overworld. Lost to them, however, were both Mianite and Dianite's Guardians – and perhaps that worried him. He hoped Lara had taken his advice and stayed away, but Jace was someone he had hoped to find. He wanted to get back at the pesky Devil for being involved. For lying.

He kept seated upon his throne, ignoring the abnormally loud _beep _that the holopad around his wrist offered. One of his creations noticed Jordan glance down at his own, though Jay knew exactly what it would say.

_SynHD died from ENTITY_SHADOWWOLF:1_

Jay watched as Jordan flinched and stepped backwards, scooping Polaris from his shoulder to hold the small Enderdragon close to his chest. At first, she squirmed, but she stilled after a moment. Polaris was yet another party Jay did not want involved in the fight. It was a pity, really, that she had chosen to follow him into the forest. His pets would have left a creature belonging to Ianite alone – although, perhaps, he would consider leaving Jordan be as well. The man swore loyalty to the one god who had never wronged the Void. Perhaps Jordan could be spared.

It was when Tucker wandered off from the group to cut down a few trees that Jay decided his time spent in the Void had been long enough. He slipped out through a portal, sneaking up behind the Mianite follower. It took only a moment to drive a blade through the Mianitee's back, and before the body hit the ground, a simple message popped up reading _iiJeriichoii was slain by Jay._

The last to fall was the female Mianitee, Sonja. When Sonja stumbled back in fear of what had occurred to Tom, she did not hit the tree she had backed herself again. Instead, she fell through the shadow the tree cast, plummeting downwards. Even Jay was unsure where she had gone, though he had his guesses.

_OMGitsfirefoxx suffocated._

While Jordan hollered for his friend, Jay glanced around, recognizing the forest they had traveled to. It was the same one in which Lara's home was located. He knew if he walked just a short way, he would find himself at the small cabin she used. He wondered, once again, where the Guardian had run off to, that she would be so blind to the deaths of those she cared for. Perhaps it didn't concern her so much due to the fact that the Mianitees would simply wake up in their beds again, as though nothing had occurred.

Jay turned at the sound of a lullaby, quietly and hurriedly being hummed. Jordan was clutching Polaris tighter against his chest, and the poor dragon looked absolutely terrified. If Jay looked hard enough, he thought he could see her shivering. Such a mighty creature reduced to trembling in fear. It was a sad sight.

"H-Hey," Jordan was saying, "_Hey_, we're… we're gonna be okay, Polaris…"

Jay found himself hating how nervous the Ianite follower sounded. Added to his concerns and kinship towards the Enderdragon, it led him to approach Jordan. He appeared from the shadows and offered what he hoped would be a kind smile – although, he realized, he would only look like an enemy regardless of what kindness he showed. Still, he wanted to try, hoping that Jordan would accept his offer.

"I only respect Ianite. You may go to the End, or meet your friends' demise."

He saw the hesitancy in Jordan's stance and gaze. For a moment, Jay thought he would jump for the offer. Why wouldn't he want to preserve his own life? All humans would. All—

"Go find Jace, Polaris," the Mianitee said, setting the dragon down on the ground. "You'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

The smile he offered to Polaris was one that Jay could only guess belonged to a man signing his own death wish. He looked confident where he should have been terrified. The Void-born understood immediately, even without Jordan turning to him and saying, "Ianite attacks when provoked. You just provoked."

Jay glared at him. His offer had been kind, and the Mianitee had just given it up. Fine. He could deal with it. If Jordan wanted to die, too, then Jay wouldn't get in his path.

"Die then," he growled.

With a simple flick of his wrist, the creatures he had created darted towards Jordan, swiftly crawling up his legs. Despite his best efforts, Jordan could not move. He struggled, attempting to pull his legs free from the shadows, but with every tug they only drew up further and further. Jordan glared at Jay and opened his mouth as if to say something.

"Jay, stop this madness," another voice scolded.

Jay glanced over Jordan's shoulder, catching sight of Lara.

Lara, who he had told to stay away. Who he had wanted to treat to a romantic meal. Who he had cared for so dearly, even though he had always learned never to trust a creature made by Mianite or Dianite. Lara, who had abandoned him just like all the rest.

Lara, who was standing in front of him, looking both powerful and horribly weak. Her wings were hanging limp at her sides, feathers shedding from them and dropping to the ground. Not many were missing, but Jay could tell she had already lost a fair amount of them. Her eyes lacked the odd shine to them that they had had before. He wondered what had occurred to make her appear in such a strange way.

"Why do you care?" He demanded, squeezing his fist. As he did, Jordan let out a choked noise, making to claw at some invisible force around his throat.

"I made you a promise, didn't I?"

Lara raised a hand and suddenly her eyes lit up gold. When nothing happened, Jay understood it was a threat and nothing more. Whether or not she had the power to fight him, he was unsure.

"I would burn the shadows and leave you with nothing," she reminded, "even if it's the last thing I do."

"Fine. The darkness will smother the light."

He rose slowly into the air. His beasts came closer at his command, circling around Lara as she approached him, shaking her head.

"No, it won't," she said confidently.

"Give me your best, Lara," he sneered.

"I already have, and am," she informed. "Because I know you won't let the shadows consume me."

Jay smirked. "Not consume," he agreed. The shadows began to wrap slowly around her, though she gave them little more than a glance. "Subduing you is a different matter."

Lara tipped her head curiously. "Oh? I suppose I'm supposed to be scared."

The shadows reached up, coiling themselves along the way until they met her throat.

"No, not scared. Subdued."

Lara hummed quietly and blinked up at Jay, silent for a moment. Jay met her eyes, waiting to hear what she would have to say to defend herself. Would she beg for her life? For the Dianite spawn's life? For the lives of Jordan and Polaris, or even of the gods?

"I loved you, Jay. Know that. Even if it's meaningless," she said softly. "I'm just… sorry I won't be there when you finally get around to properly asking me about that date again."

Jay's eye twitched. As much as he had wanted to hear those words, after what had happened, they sounded so false.

"Shut up, I won't hear your lies!"

He snapped his fingers and the shadows leapt, completely enveloping her. He quickly pulled out the bow he had used when they had first met, although Lara was not his target. He spun and flew off to find Jace before his energy could fully leave him. It was already draining, and it was doing so very quickly.

When he cannot locate Jace, Jay lets out a frustrated, angry roar. His form flickered as his energy continued to drain, leaving him feeling weaker than he had in quite a long while. He felt tired. If he did not find Jace soon, his efforts would have been pointless. Killing the other Guardian was a pleasure he wanted to entertain, but he could not do so if he could not locate the Devil.

"Where are you?!"

"Hidden from you."

Jay glanced down, noticing that Lara had gotten free of the shadows. He scowled. Jordan must have gotten free, then, and released her. Lara was looking up at him with a look of sympathy on her face, her eye lacking the golden glow they had previously.

"Jay, let me help you," she said.

An odd, foreign feeling came over him. Wet, hot tears stung at his eyes. He had never cried before. It had been frowned upon while he was growing up. A sign of weakness.

And yet, Lara made him want to cry. She made him want to mourn his ending and everything that was leading up to that point. He had hurt her. He had been bitter and vengeful, and he had hurt her in return for her words. Words that had perhaps been meant in kindness than in disgust or anger.

"I am beyond help, Lara! There is no help," he called back down at her. He coughed as his form flickered again. "Just tell me. Where is he?"

"I told you. Jace is hidden," she repeated, before holding out a hand to him. "No one is beyond help, Jay. If they were, I would've given up on Jace – and you – a long time ago."

"You—You don't care… no one does. It was me, me and the shadows! My father tried to protect me and he's dead!"

"I was the first Guardian created. Everyone wanted to one-up my creation. Jace was violent; Ianite's original Guardian was calm until she disappeared, and then she became ruthless; and now… there's you. A lonely, lonely little boy..." She offered out her hand again. "Your father didn't protect you. He destroyed you. Let me fix things. Let me help you."

Jay lowered down to the ground and reached out. Despite his desire to take her hand – to accept her help – his energy levels were low enough that his body was no longer solid enough to make contact. His hands slipped through hers, shimmering as it did.

"I'm afraid… you can't help me, Lara. I was a lost cause. I was born a weapon. And when weapons are all out of fight, they get tossed aside."

Lara kicked off of the ground, hovering in the air. "Or… they get new ammo," she countered, hovering her hand over his cheek. "Pure energy. Poisonous… to beings without immortality. But to those with it? A godsend."

From the hand on her cheek, a golden light pools. Jay feels it begin to leak into his body, calming his own energy. Unlike how the light had been when she had healed him, this light was much warmer and less concentrated. It slipped out from beneath her fingertips, blossoming out along his form until his own body began to settle.

"And only one of us is immortal now, Jay. I love you," she informed.

Jay pushed himself away from her, desperate to deny what he was understanding from her words. She had done something. She had done something, and now what? Was she going to die?

"No! _No! Lara_," he hollered. "What… What have you done?"

Lara looked down at her hands. She raised one, turning it in front of herself almost as though she was curious as to why it flashed between transparent and corporeal. "Made it so only one of us will die today," she answered.

"Stop… Don't you fucking dare, Lara," he growled, "I… I'm not doing it without you… dammit."

"You were about to make me," she accused, "you _did_ make me. I was left alone while you hid in your stupid Void. I'm not going to let us both die. The energy will only run one way, and I've already asked the Wizards not to allow any more immortal creatures to sacrifice themselves. I will be the only death today."

With a sad smile, she continued, "And that's how I wanted it. It's how it should've worked. The Guardians should've ended with me, not continued on being the curse it is. You should never have gone through what you did, Jay, and I'm sorry. It's all because of me."

"Don't blame yourself. The gods did this. The Fates foresaw it… I can… I can get Mianite…"

She shook her head at him. "Mianite won't help you, or me. I'm not loyal anymore."

After a moment of silence, Lara glanced at her hands again and offered a quiet sigh. "I suppose you'll have to remember to blow up Tom's house for me," she joked, although her tone was half-hearted. "Isn't that what you told me to do when you left…?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it is," he managed, past a foreign knot in his throat caused by heartache.

He reached over and grabbed her hand, a difficult task with it being nearly incorporeal. "You aren't leaving me, dammit. I said it before, I'll say it again: We can split the energy I have…" Thick fog gathered in his hands. "Sorry, Void energy hurts like hell."

He was going to kill Waglington and the other Wizards for even daring to be involved.

"Jay," she sighed. Her eyes trailed to his hand. "It will kill me. I'm not immortal anymore. I can't hold any type of foreign energy without it ripping me apart… I'm going to die, either by poisoning of the very thing you think will save me, or by saving you."

She blinked a few times to prevent the tears that were forming in her eyes from galling. "I've trapped you again, haven't I?"

"Then I'll take the excess energy from you," he said. "Come on. This is the only way I can think of to save you."

She shook her head at him, and for once, Jay was completely at a loss for why. "You'll need to apologize to Jordan and the others. They don't deserve what you did," she scolded, "and Jace should be found before Dianite gets wise. Jace… I can't imagine he'll take this well…"

Jay nodded. "Fine. But first—"

A thick, ghostly smoke wrapped around Lara's arm, creating a larger open circuit for her energy to flow through. Jay found himself nearly tensing at the amount of energy that just continued to pour through it. It was so much. How did she contain all of it? One Guardian, with that much energy.

"Holy… You have a lot of energy," he muttered, before raising his voice to say, "Jace will be fine. I have an idea."

"_Jay_," she stressed, reaching up to block the wisps. "You're only going to kill me faster. Even if I live from this, you can't protect a mortal forever. Dianite could simply waltz into my home and kill me. Mianite very well might himself."

Jay growled. "Like hell they will. Done. You're safe at the moment. Now… Waglington!"

Waglington appeared almost immediately. "Y-Yeah?" He asked. Jay wondered what Lara had done to make the Wizard so hesitant, or if he was just acting in such a manner because he knew of the damage Jay had caused only moments ago.

"Make me a damned battle ground and get Jace here. Tell him truce," Jay demanded.

"Wags won't find Jace. He's nowhere Wizard magic can get to him," Lara informed quietly. "You won't either…"

"Dammit, Lara. Bring him here. Please, there's only one other way this will work," he begged, "And it'll suck. For me that is. But it's still easier with him here."

"Jace is submerged in lava underneath the Dianite temple, chained and protected from all things by the same energy used to save you. Even if I wanted to, I can't do anything."

Jay held his head in his hands. "I-I was once told… that if you truly love something… you'll let it go…" He did not dare glance up to meet her eyes. He did not want to see her face, in risk that she may be eager. "Lara, do you wish to be let go?"

One of Lara's hands settled on his shoulder. "No," she answered, "but I wish you would be. If you go back to the Void, Void-born or no, it will destroy you. I don't want to see that happened – and I don't want to see any more of this horrible, horrible fighting over absolutely nothing. I would rather die knowing that you'll live, than live without you or know that you're only prolonging watching me die in front of you."

"Lara… the Voice is the only place for someone like me… but I'll stay here… I'll continue for you," he promised. "Maybe… Maybe there's somewhere in the afterlife we can meet."

He took a quick step forward and wrapped her in a hug. "This seems like the smallest gesture I could do."

She nudged him back before rolling her eyes at him. "Don't be an idiot," she muttered half-heartedly, before cupping his face in her hands and kissing his lips.

For a moment, Jay was shocked. She had just kissed him. He returned the kiss, until the need for air became overwhelming and forced him to pull away. She had kissed him. And he was going to lose her.

"Not a goodbye, but a see you soon," he whispered as he watched her flicker.

"Don't let it be soon," she warned, "don't you dare. I don't want to see you for at least a century or two."

Jay offered a smile, albeit one that was sad. "Can't promise that. Trouble always seems to find me."

In spite of his joke, she frowned. "Please… try to avoid trouble for me. It won't mean anything if I saved you just to have you die."

She flickered again a few times, although the moments between the flickers were becoming gradually less and less. He sighed. "For you."

He placed a hand under her chin and tipped her head up so he could stare into her eyes.

It should have been a sweet moment, having his first kiss. Not a bittersweet one.

He should have been telling her how much he cared. Not inwardly mourning a loss that has yet to happen.

"One last time," he muttered before closing the distance between their lips.

He felt her lean in to the kiss and wrap her arms loosely around his neck, as though trying to keep his close.

Only a brief moment passed before she vanished, as though she had never been there, and left only open air.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Next week will be the epilogue, and then there will be a little bit of a break so I can edit the next story in the series.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Epilogue**

After Lara vanished, time seemed to stop, as if mourning the loss itself. Jay dropped to his knees, thoughts both rushing and creeping slowly as he attempted to take in what had just occurred.

Gone.

She was _gone_.

A hand settled atop his shoulder. He didn't bother to glance up, already knowing it had to be one of the gods. The Mianitees were dead – or, rather, more than likely respawning in their beds; Jordan was probably still in the forest, if he'd not taken the chance to run and check on his friends; Polaris would be with him, and Jace was somewhere deep in the Nether, far out of the reach of anyone.

"I fault her not, for she did no wrong." Mianite said. "Perhaps it was I, blinded by anger. Truly, she did good. Not me."

Jay got to his feet, eyes downcast. He made no motion to acknowledge Mianite's words or presence, wanting instead to block them out in favor of not thinking of the death he'd just witness. The sacrifice, for his very existence, that seemed so _wrong_ to him.

"Tom, I made a promise. I'm staying here. And blowing you up." He muttered. His words were lost to a gust of wind as he kicked off of the ground, TNT in hand. A single pump of his wings had him soaring through the sky quickly in the direction of the Mianitee's home.

Once Jay had reached the Mianitee's house, Ianite appeared close by her brother, regarding him with a somber gaze. In spite of how she knew Mianite felt of Jay, she knew Mianite would never wish unwell for his Guardian. Lara was precious, to both god and Guardian, and Ianite only hoped that there would be no negative reaction.

She sighed softly, glancing down at Jay and following his path as he laid out lines of explosives, with a doleful expression on her face. "It is a pity what happened, Brother," she murmured, "they were so close."

Mianite didn't turn his eyes towards her, but he sighed in response. "Sister, I have done an injustice. We will work to right it. If her body cannot be saved, then perhaps her soul can," he informs.

Ianite coughed lightly. "But she will look and act completely different," she pointed out, "the boy will not like this. His nature might... overreact."

"Nonsense," Mianite countered. "Her soul will create a mortal body, the same as she has always been. The only downside is that it may take a while."

"Very well," the goddess conceded.

A smirk crossed her face and she tipped her head a bit to one side. "Tom, I do not trust you behind me with a sword," she warned before vanishing, returning to the End.

Mianite turned towards Tom with a look of danger in his eyes. Tom, noticing the glance, immediately hid the sword behind his back. Although the blade still poked out over his shoulder and the knowledge that Tom had intended to attempt to bring harm to his sister, an odd humor washed over the god. There had been so much death and loss, that not even Mianite could bring himself to truly remain angry with the zombie-creature.

"Perhaps you Mianitees are good for us gods."

He flicked a wrist. Tom's sword was pried out of his hands and flung into the side of a mountain. With a laugh, Mianite vanished, leaving Tom to fetch his sword.

After freeing his sword, the zombie-creature look towards his home, flinching when an explosion sounded. He knew who would blow up his home. Although Tucker, Sonja, and Jordan all occasionally pulled pranks, they rarely blew anything up. It was an unspoken rule between them all that nothing was to be destroyed beyond reasonable repair, so they tended to stay away from major explosions in favor of not wanting to have to fix anything.

"Again, mate?" He called as he ran over to access the damages. Barely anything was left, and standing as expected near the rubble and debris was Jay. "_Really?_ I just fixed this!"

Jay let out a quiet, broken laugh. "I know. Ruined all my hard work," he agreed half-heartedly, before flying off towards _her _house.

_Gone._

_Gone._

_Gone._

She was _gone._

And Jay?

Jay was burning from her loss.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: The final chapter of the first in (currently) four stories (with more planned). I have to finish up the commentaries over on AO3, and I'll have to edit the parts of the second story. I might aim to take a minor break from main-story stuff and put up one-shots for the remainder of this month (once a week) while I do the editing and work on the last four (or three? I don't remember off of the top of my head) chapters of commentary.**_

_**Also, yes, I do realize I said this would be up yesterday, but I was presenting a scholarship award at a graduation and by the time I remembered that it was actually Thursday yesterday, it was almost midnight. So I chose to wait until I woke up this morning to upload the chapter. I'm sorry for the delay.**_


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